09/20/2022 - Jefferson City, Mo.
Missouri
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued an audit of Nodaway County that
identifies areas of concern and provides recommendations to county officials to
address those concerns. The review gave a rating of "good," the same
rating given in the previous audit of Nodaway County.
"Audits
can help local governments provide service to their constituents more
efficiently and effectively," Auditor Galloway said. "I'm encouraged
that in their responses to the audit, officials in Nodaway County were
receptive to implementing the recommendations we gave."
The
audit found various controls and procedures need improvement in the Sheriff's
office, which collected approximately $100,000 for various fees in 2021. The
Sheriff's office does not always correctly record the method of payment on
receipt slips issued for the fee account, and receipts are not always deposited
intact. In addition, office personnel do not prepare a monthly list of
liabilities for the commissary account, and the Sheriff does not disburse all
commissary net proceeds to the appropriate county fund.
The
audit also found the Sheriff's office does not charge or collect sales tax on
e-cigarettes sold to inmates, and sales taxes charged and collected for
commissary items are not remitted to the state Department of Revenue. The
Sheriff's office also has not established procedures to follow up on
outstanding checks, nor has the Sheriff entered into written agreements with
surrounding cities or counties for the boarding of prisoners. Better controls
over the Sheriff's computers also are needed to adequately protect the office's
records.
In
addition to the findings regarding the Sheriff's office, the audit also found
the Public Administrator does not always file annual settlements and status
reports timely, and the county has not developed a records management and
retention policy in compliance with state guidelines.
The
complete audit report is available here.
